Still giving back to others until her very last breathe.
This week, Dolly Parton sadly passed away at 80-years-old in Nashville Tennessee. Dolly had been dealing with undisclosed health issues for the last year or so, and she previously shared that she was having issues with severe kidney stones. Aside from that, she understandably didn’t share more, though clearly there were more serious issues going on.
Dolly’s rep confirmed to People, that Dolly’s death sadly followed a “brief battle with cancer,” though the specific kind was not revealed. Dolly had been open about her health struggles over the last several months, though it sounds like the cancer was a more recent development.
And while the world mourns, even more so does Dolly’s family, and her sister, Stella, took to Instagram to share a lengthy post about her love for her big sister and Dolly’s final days.
Stella explained that she and Dolly used to have coffee together and catch up very early on Tuesday mornings, because growing up farm girls, they continued to be early risers throughout their lives. They had normal sisterly conversations, and Stella says that Dolly is exactly who the world thought she was, even in her private life:
“My big sister Dolly got her wings this past Tuesday. If anyone gets to heaven I’m sure she made it right on time. I know she’s showing out big time, in all her sparkles and shine That was my sister’s way.
Every Tuesday about this time, before the sun came up and the world was still asleep, she and I, for many years, had our coffee together over the phone. Being little farm girls we’ve continued to be early risers.
As she liked to say, ‘Shoot Tedda, we get more work done before the sun comes up than most folks do all day long!’ We would catch up on gossip, as sisters do, and drink coffee and make plans, as it has always been our way. My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I’ve ever known.”
Stella of course noted what a kind and giving person Dolly was, revealing that, even when Dolly realized there might be no hope for her to heal from the horrible disease she was diagnosed with, she wanted her medical team to “try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future.”
It sounds like she was the generous Dolly we all knew and loved all the way until the end, and Stella also thanked fans for all of their support and love in the days since Dolly’s passing:
“What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future. My sister was always thinking of others, and if you want to honor her legacy, show more kindness, lift others up, give more of your time and resources, as she continued to do to the very end.
I want to personally thank all of you for the outpouring of love and respect you are showing my sister. Your love and respect for her is deeply felt by all of us who loved her first, and it helps as we grieve her passing through our lives! My Tuesday morning coffee time will never be the same, but her love, respect and goodness will remain. Dolly loved the world and everyone in it.
I would criticize and complain about it and she would laugh and say, ‘Shoot Tedda, we’ve got more important things to do than worry about their silly a*****.’ She was right, and she proved it every day. She left the world abetter place by being in it, so let’s follow her example. Love and respect to all of you.”
It’s just an unimaginable loss to the world, there’s no other way to put it.
You can read her full statement here:
